The Etymologicon

A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language

De: Mark Forsyth

Narrado por: Don Hagen

Do you know why…

a mortgage is literally a death pledge? …why guns have girls’ names? …why salt is related to soldier?

You’re about to find out…

The Etymologicon (e-t?-‘mä-lä-ji-kän) is:

*Witty (wi-te\): Full of clever humor

*Erudite (er-?-dit): Showing knowledge

*Ribald (ri-b?ld): Crude, offensive

The Etymologicon is a completely unauthorized guide to the strange underpinnings of the English language. It explains: How you get from “gruntled” to “disgruntled”; why you are absolutely right to believe that your meager salary barely covers “money for salt”; how the biggest chain of coffee shops in the world (hint: Seattle) connects to whaling in Nantucket; and what precisely the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2012 Mark Forsyth (P)2014 Gildan Media LLC

Reseñas de la Crítica

“The stocking filler of the season...how else to describe a book that explains the connection between Dom Perignon and Mein Kampf.” ( The Observer)

“Crikey...this is addictive!” ( The Times)

circular indeed!

Any additional comments?

Note, the author admits to being a circuitous thinker/speaker, so this book is told almost as if the listener is on a roller coaster. It never stops moving! I loved it! Not only is the telling different, but the data is fascinating! Ive got so much word trivia now, Im guaranteed to be ushered out of the next party! I think I had an idiotic smile on my face the whole time I was listening. I know I laughed out loud about the SPAM/spam...Monty Python...email part.......

Simply delightful

This is a delightful book. It is well written, with obviously excellent grammar and punctuation...! And flowed from one term to another with ease. The narrator was easy to listen to, and I enjoyed his humorous tone. I will listen to it in the future many times I think.

Packed full of interesting facts

The author takes the definition of one word, in this case 'book' and runs with it and sees where it takes him.

This is one of those books perfect for reading for 15 minutes and then putting down. Indeed, I'd nearly recommend you to consume it in small chunks as you are bombarded with a lot of information very quickly, so listening for too mong becomes overwhelming.

There are lots of interesting facts in the book. It is also quite humorous, though at times some of the humour seems a bit forced and perhaps unnecessary.

Still, if you enjoy the English language then you'll enjoy this book.

10/10 will always recommend

Excellent listen through and through. I have and will recommend this book to everyone I know In life.

Delightful.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook very much and will likely listen to again. It made my little linguaphile heart happy.

Fun for the Word Nerd in all of us

Quirky, funny, and simultaneously expansive yet concise. The path meandered throughout time and across the world, yet always came back to what we call home.

Excellent book for sleep

You can judge this book by its cover. I have books that I choose to listen to when I drive, when I do tasks around the house, and when I’m trying to get to sleep.

Focus on the words as you listen to this book at 0.8 speed and I suspect you’ll be off to sleep in less than 10 minutes. Amazon has other old books set up specifically for this purpose, but this one beats all the others I’ve tried. I’m certain he’ll end up selling me all of his books just for this purpose.

If you love words, this book is for you!

This is the funniest book I've ever read or listened to on words and the origins of words. In addition to countless insights, the book includes lots of laugh-out-loud passages delivered with precision by the narrator. Quite an enjoyable listen!l. I can't wait to read the author's other books!

This is one you need to READ, like with your eyes

I love the wittiness of the author, and the cyclical nature of the story. Many of the nuances of his word play are missed by not reading the words themselves though. Overall a fun story to listen too, full of new origins to words you will carry with you forever.

Hello, and welcome to Fun With Words

What made the experience of listening to The Etymologicon the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed listening to the string of consciousness of words from origin to ending.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Etymologicon?

Learning where we get some of our technical jargon from.

Have you listened to any of Don Hagen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

N/A

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Sometimes a word will have a certain connotation and through it's use will end up to mean the complete opposite - these were quite fun to learn about.

Any additional comments?

"That book talks a lot about testicles!" - my wife

If this book does one thing it's to cement the fact that the author, Mark Forsyth, must be fun at parties. This book must have been a fun challenge to write. It reads like one big conversation where most things are tied together and you learn where a number of words got their meaning. The stories aren't long so there are quite a few words. I really thought a more words were going to come from sexual meanings; and while that's the case for some, there seem to be more words that stem from food.

If you enjoy words and their origins this is a really fun book and isn't too "heady" that a non-scholar couldn't enjoy it. There are quite a number of category of words that the book covers and had a number of laugh out loud moments. Just a note too - reading this book doesn't lend to always knowing the pronunciations of some of the derivatives. Yet, listening to the audio book doesn't allow you to ruminate on some of the line of words. Each version has its pros and cons. Final Grade - B